A statue of the bodhisattva Kshitigarbha was consecrated in the Yashkul district of Kalmykia

The ceremony of consecrating the statue of Kshitigarbha, installed in a new park in the village of Yashkul, was led by the Head of the Buddhists of Kalmykia Telo Tulku Rinpoche. Together with the monks of the Central Khurul of Kalmykia, the Shajin Lama performed the Chusol ritual — a ritual of purification and ablution during which all Buddhas, bodhisattvas, dakas, and dakinis are invoked to purify the locality and all those present — and the Rabne, a ritual of consecration.

Speaking to the residents of the village of Yashkul, Telo Tulku Rinpoche thanked them for the invitation and congratulated them on the Kalmyk holiday of Zul; the Rinpoche told all those gathered the history of the holiday, its significance, and explained the meaning and essence of the rituals being performed. The Rinpoche also called on everyone, when the prayer service begins, to recite prayers together with the monks. “Pray not only for your family, pray for our republic, for our people, for all living beings.” “We all want happiness, we all want to eliminate problems and purify negative karma. From the first day of birth, kindness, love, and compassion are inherent in us; we have simply forgotten how to cultivate all this. So let us all make a promise that from today we will together try our utmost to help people,” he added.

Upon completion of the ritual, the Supreme Lama of Kalmykia visited the village of Chilgir, where he inspected the khurul under construction.

The bodhisattva Kshitigarbha embodies the power of the vow to save living beings. Kshitigarbha vowed not to become a Buddha until all living beings are saved. A special field of Kshitigarbha’s activity is the hell realms, because it is there that living beings suffer the most and are in need of support.